Staffing

• Plays a vital role in patient outcomes, staff satisfaction, and overall healthcare facility performance.
• Determining and providing the appropriate number and mix of nursing personnel to produce a desired level of care
• Recruits, selects, places, and indoctrinates personnel
• First and middle-level managers are responsible for meeting staffing needs.
• First-level managers, known as team leaders or supervisors, manage the day-to-day operations and staff.

Indoctrination

• The process of adjusting an employee to the organization.
• This management function ensures that employees understand and align with the organization's values, norms, and expectations.

Training and Development

• Involves organized methods to ensure that employees acquire the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs effectively.
• Training methods include:
  • Simulation
  • On-the-Job Training (OJT)
  • Lectures
• Development methods are used to advance employees' skills and knowledge. Methods within Development include:
  • Mentorship Programs
  • Performance Reviews
  • Peer Evaluations

Recruitment

• Actively seeking out or attracting applicants for existing positions.
• This should be an ongoing process.
• Recruitment Methods:
  • CONFORM: Forced to learn new values, skills, attitudes, and social rules
  • Role Model or Leadership Role

Patient Care Demands

• Assess patient population, acuity levels, and expected care needs
• Determine the appropriate number of nursing staff

Skill Mix Assessment

• Evaluate nursing staff skill sets and competencies
• Ensure a balanced mix of experience levels e.g., novice, experienced, and advanced practice nurses.

Patient Classification System

• Groups patients according to specific characteristics that measure the acuity of illness
  • Category I/ Self Care
    • Patients are largely independent and require minimal nursing assistance.
    • Nursing Care Required: 1 – 2 hours of nursing care per day.
  • Category II/ Minimal Care
    • Patients need some assistance but can manage most of their care independently.
    • Nursing Care Required: 3 – 4 hours of nursing care per day.
  • Category III/ Intermediate Care
    • Patients require more frequent nursing interventions and monitoring.
    • Nursing Care Required: 5 – 6 hours of nursing care per day.
  • Category IV/ Modified Intensive Care
    • Patients require close monitoring and significant nursing care due to their unstable condition.
    • Nursing Care Required: 7 – 8 hours of nursing care per day.

Distribution of Staff per Shift

• Morning = 45% = 0.45
• Afternoon = 37% = 0.37
• Night = 18% = 0.18

Professional to Non-Professional Ratio

• General medicine, medical, surgical, and obstetrics have the same professional to non-professional ratio.
• Example: 60% would be nurses while 40% would be nursing aids.

Nursing Care Hours

• ABO = Average Bed Occupancy
• NCH = Nursing Care Hours

• of working hours = 8 Based on RA 5901 (The 40 Working Hours per Week Law)

• Medical and Surgical have the same NCH per patient per day.

Cyclical

• A long-term scheduling approach that provides employees with knowledge of their work shifts well in advance.
• Cover a designated number of weeks that is called a CYCLE LENGTH
• Advantages:
  • Predictability: Employees appreciate having advance notice of their schedules - helps with personal planning and reduces stress.
  • Consistency: Create a sense of stability and routine, benefiting both staff and patients.
• Disadvantages:
  • Inflexibility: Challenging to accommodate last-minute changes or staff emergencies.